on my 95 cars

Well the auto anyway, that sees incredible San Diego sun all year round (outside parking day and night, not in shade) I periodically sand the wheel with about 120 grit, then 300 grit, 600 grit and then I use black KIWI paste shoe polish to shine and smooth. Works for me so far.

 

My 94LS has the same wheel as my 91S. I much prefer that design over the 95. So far, both of them have held up quite well, but then again, we don't get that much sun here, lol, or I use a car cover.

 

Except for the fact the 95 wheel at least on the LS is/was not leather, I kinda like the design and the flatter air bag. I guess because of the issue with sun damage it is very hard to find a 95 steering wheel. Of course the small number of 95s imported here make it a rarity, too.

 

That '95 design looks like the steering wheel in a 'phase 1' (1996-1998) type 916 GTV/Spider (I had one). Fairly distinctive with the two spokes at the bottom but generally considered uglier than the pleasant three-spoke design that followed (in the 1998-2004 GTV/Spider and also the 166).

I have seen a three-spoke wheel fitted in place of a four-spoke so my guess is that you could fit either the early or later GTV/Spider wheel or the 166 wheel to a '95 164. By 1995, airbags were fitted for all countries, so I expect you could find one on eBay from England/Europe. Like http://item.mobileweb.ebay.co.uk/viewitem?itemId=190755842916&index=10&nav=SEARCH&nid=42726286014 for example (four-spoke), or http://item.mobileweb.ebay.co.uk/viewitem?itemId=300630196143&index=11&nav=SEARCH&nid=06935586286 (three-spoke).

Probably a smaller airbag in European versions than USA versions, as it is designed to work only when the occupant is belted-in (I seem to recall reading somewhere that USA airbags must inflate faster and be larger to cater for when the driver is not wearing their seatbelt?)

-Alex

 

Here in the Netherlands the firts airbag steering wheel(1st picture) were deliverd in the 164 in the year 1993(the fl model) before 1993 the 164 had no airbag ateeringwheel at all..

Then in 1995 the steeringwheel in the 2nd picture came, en in 1996 the same steeringwheel came with a full color Alfa logo in the middle.
Then at the end of 1996/beginning 1997 the came with a wood-like steeringwheel like in my 1997 164..

I replaced that with a leathor one, because i think that wood belongs in a fireplace....

The first photo is a steeringwheel from a 1992/1993 164 Super 3.0v6 24V without an airbag.
In this picture the steeringwheel was fitted in my ex first series 164 v6 automatic...

After that came the steeringwheel like in the 1ste picture from Steve..

Then the one in the 2nd picture from Steve.

After that comes the same steeringwheel like picture 2 but then with a full color logo in the middle...
I don't have a picture here but it is the same as the one in the picture below, but then with a leathor rim instead of a woodlike one...

And the one above is the one that came in 1997..

Only the QV 24V came with another steeringwheel..

Also without an airbag...

 

Much appreciated Steve. I gather that late model Spider steering wheels are interchangeable with the 164 as well, if so, it opens up new sources for us 164 folks.

 

Series 4 Spider Air bag steering wheels



Air bags are the same 91-94 164 and 91-94 Series 4 Spiders.

As for steering wheels and clockspring/horn contact Alfa parts CD list different steering wheel and clock spring part numbers for Spider than for 91-94 164s.

They do look the same and have two horn buttons but I don't know if they are really different or interchangeable.

 

The "older" style wheels have much better horn buttons which can be actuated without moving your hands, just a twitch of the thumb. Newer airbag wheels develop a resistance to horn application which is quite dangerously deficient in my opinion. When you need to sound the rim it is by definition an emergency. Poor ergonomics for horn buttons are as egregious as for wiper controls.

 

Hi Steve, could you please list the part number for the brand new steering wheel as in picture 1? I have that style wheel in my 94 that I would like to replace.. The wheel is starting to get sticky even after repeated cleansing.

Thanks!

 

New leather 164 steering wheel



The brand new 1991-1994 leather covered wheel is 112405580.

and was listed as 01124055800000 Z STR WHEEL for $438.75 but not in stock now.

If interested PM me for my price on the new one I have.

The 91-94 Spider wheel was 01124726800000

STR.WHEEL,VELOC $649.87 Not in stock either

 

On another note, what kind of electronic s***storm am I going to unleash in the car if I want a non-airbag wheel? In the big picture, I'd like to chuck the airbags completely, but at a minimum I'd like a wheel that looks like it was meant for steering a car rather than a cruiseliner...

 

If you just disconnect the orange connectors behind the right side center console panel, that will disable completely the airbag system (12v cars), including the dash warning light.

Are there insurance implications for disabling the airbag system? Anybody know? Depending on the state, it might not pass a vehicle inspection.

 

TS, if you wear one of these nobody will bother you!

 

Where I live there are no vehicle inspections, so that's not an issue. My insurance is liability only, so again, no problem. If I can just unplug and disable it all, I'll leave the passenger airbag intact, and all the wiring, so if the car ever goes to another owner it can be returned to original spec.

 

I wonder if you're injured in a collision caused by the other driver, if you could be disadvantaged in court awarded damages because the airbags were intentionally disabled.

 

This is the first car I've ever owned with airbags, and I remain unconvinced of their value.

Airbags exist solely because insurance companies think it necessary to protect people too stupid to wear seat belts. Seat belts are a safety device which quite effectively identify people who deserve to remain in the gene pool.

A very wise fellow named Darwin wrote a book which addresses the natural and desirable process of cleansing a species of unsuitable members. We are the only species that chooses to interfere with this natural order, and we are worse for the habit... :devil2:

 

All steering wheels are NLA>
89-94 steering wheel horn buttons are NLA (may have some or 1 side only in stock)

 

I have one brand new 1991-1994 black leather wheel with black stitching and both horn buttons I am willing to sell for big bucks.

 

LOL. Keep it another week, see what happens!

 

Earlier in this thread it was pointed out that the "later" US-market 164 steering wheels are (disappointingly) not leather covered. On the other hand the "late" wheel was available in both a leather-covered and wood mahogany version in the European market. How do you get one? Well a search on ebay.de might turn up one (lenkrad = steering wheel), but if you include "164" in the search, the results are going to be slim. Here's a little secret I discovered. To broaden your results use "spider" or "916" in the search. An Alfa 916 owner's forum gives a tip to people who are tired of their leather-covered wheel and want a wooden steering in its place: "get one from a late model 164". That means that the 916 and 164 are interchangeable, and then the reverse is also true, a 916 leather-covered steering wheel will work on a 164 (incidentally the 916 has red stitching, especially appropriate for a 164S). Here's a picture of one, in leather, that I just spotted (they are not expensive). I myself found and purchased recently the mahogany version (2nd picture). The manufacturing date stamped inside was "Jan. 1996". Clock springs of both early and later wheels, as Steve said, are the same (I used my existing 1992 clock spring for this 1996 wheel). By the way I also read somewhere on this forum that the horn control from the later wheel is not as good as the older wheel. I think it's a matter of adjustment; the later horn system is robust and well designed. It's the installation of the airbag (with a symbol of a horn embossed on upper left and right) that can be finicky and which can lead to poor horn control. You have to get the bottom of the airbag in the maximum forward position (secured by two velcro strips) before pushing in the top. It took me several trys to get it right.

Addition: At the bottom of this post is a tutorial for replacing leather "cuffs" on Alfa wooden steering wheels

 

In another thread I had the opportunity to share my findings on WHO made these wheels. Probably no surprise to the AUTOCAR reviewer of the 164 who described it "a German car with personality"—all the airbag steering wheels are German made.

Here is the lineage:

1974 - Kolbenschmidt (KS) bought a company in Aschaffenburg that produced complete steering wheels and also later airbags (Bayern-Chemie)

1993 - Kolbenschmidt sold this division to Magna International

1996 - Magna sold this division to TRW

The wheels were manufactured complete with airbags and covered leather. See here a brochure from the actual plant, dated 1991, responsible for the Alfa airbag steering wheels, showing all the manufacturing steps.

http://www.omifacsimiles.com/alfa/Steering_Wheels_and_Manufacture_1991.pdf

In a nutshell: the first leather covered airbag wheels for the 164 are Kolbenschmidt. The early face-lift leather (or PVC) covered wheels are also Kolbenschmidt; latter face-lift wheels are stamped Magna, with slight differences in the casting.

I am grateful to Mr. Dittmar Schuster, Corporate Communications at Kolbenschmidt AG for much of this information.

One could easily call the city of Aschaffenburg in Bavaria Germany the "capital of steering wheel production". Besides Kolbenschmidt, Magna and TWR, it is also the home of the famous Petri steering wheel—founded 1899 by Richard Petri—now owned by Takata. That's an amazing steering wheel ancestry.

Here some examples of stampings and company logos.